Kurono Tokyo 2021 Anniversary Toki 朱鷺

The Kurono Anniversary special edition is a significant part of the brand line-up. It serves as an important reminder of our humble beginnings and the reason why the initiative was started - To create high-quality, Japan-made luxury timepieces that shares the design DNA of celebrated independent Japanese watchmaker Hajime Asaoka's exclusive handmade atelier watches.

Because of this, we spend a little more time in the consideration of every year's anniversary watch not just on the design phase, but across the entire manufacture process to deliver on two core promises - That every Anniversary watch will be exceptional yet highly affordable; and that whoever that has been waiting for one shall get one.

To understand Kurono Anniversary is to understand Hajime Asaoka's philosophy as a watchmaker - his personal beliefs, inclinations, and motivations - and his approach to this year's Kurono Anniversary watch. It is our hope that his words will give you a better insight to the beginnings of this initiative, and the result of almost a year of planning - Kurono Tokyo is proud to present the Kurono Anniversary 朱鷺:TOKI.

This year's anniversary watch is something Hajime-sensei crafted first and foremost as a watch he himself would like to wear, and then to extend his personal sense of style and refinement to a wider audience.

In celebration of Kurono’s second-year anniversary, Hajime-sensei had a specific aim to create a color that was as unique as possible to Japanese culture, and differentiate itself from the typical 'salmon'-shade dial popular amongst watchmakers in the West.

The 316L high-polished stainless steel watch features Kurono's signature anniversary radial sunburst patterned dial that exudes an exceptional array of coruscating metallic coral shades ranging from crimson to vermillion red, and under certain lighting conditions a touch of purple. The color of the 朱鷺:Toki dial was inspired by the Japanese crested ibis, an auspicious bird with feathers of a shade akin to that of a rising sun, and is regarded as a symbol of happiness and good fortune. This emblematic Japanese bird emanates a beautiful shade of dark-pink tinged vermilion, also known as 朱鷺色Toki-iro, as it flies overhead soaring the skies. Hajime-sensei based the concept of the anniversary watch and the color of the dial off this subtle grace and allure, and aspired to portray this sentiment through his craft. The construction of the anniversary dial took nearly a year’s work of perfecting - from ideation, to sampling, to production, and ultimately, finishing. 朱鷺:TOKI represented the highest number of prototype samples made in the consideration of a single watch.

The final color was unpredictable as the shade constantly changes depending on the thickness of the paint and can only be seen after it is physically applied. After myriads of samples and experimentations with different thicknesses and mixes of paint, Hajime-sensei continued to work on fine-tuning the gloss layer as well as other aspects of the watch till it matched his standards.

Lightplay on the 朱鷺:TOKI takes a new dimension depending on the type and color temperature of the light source. In white light the purplish-coral hues of the dial take centerstage, while in yellow light its golden hues are accentuated making it look less playful and more refined.

The second-anniversary 朱鷺:Toki dial is a nostalgic reminiscence to Kurono's humble beginnings. As an independent watch designer with a passion for horology, Hajime-sensei established Kurono as a means to share his artistic taste with fellow watch enthusiasts.

With atelier pieces in such high demand, Hajime-sensei never had time to create a watch exclusively for himself. Kurono was birthed for him to be more experimental with his creations, and to share this aesthetic with the world. This entailed creating his ideal designs and exacting them to standards of perfection as he views Kurono equally as important as his atelier pieces, and only aims to pursue and produce exactly as he envisions.

It is our hope that the name Kurono will one day be recognized and admired by the masses - A timepiece highly admired by both creator, and consumer.

Technical specifications

Kurono Tokyo 2021 Anniversary Toki 朱鷺

Case

• Material: 316L high-polished stainless steel
• Diameter: 37mm
• Thickness: 7mm (excl sapphire glass)
• Glass: Sapphire crystal
• Solid caseback
• Water-resistant to 30 meters (3 ATM)

Dial and hands

• Metallic coral radial sunburst

Movement

• Japan-made MIYOTA Premium
• Automatic movement 90S5
• Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
• Number of jewels: 24
• Power reserve of 40 hours

Functions/Indications

• Hours, minutes, seconds

Strap and buckle

• Matte black alligator strap
• 20mm at lugs, 16mm at buckle

MSRP: JPY 189'900 (EUR 1'430)

For more information, please visit kuronotokyo.com